First Chicago NBD Places Responsibility For Chicago FX Trading Under Markin

First Chicago NBD has shifted the foreign exchange hierarchy in its Chicago office, naming Ken Markin as head of FX spot, forward and options trading for the room, officials say. Meanwhile, Steve Fowler was appointed to the new post of chief dealer for FX options.

Separately, spot chief dealer Steve Matsuo has resigned after 13 years with the bank, say officials. Matsuo was the chief dealer for the last three years. His current whereabouts could not be determined by press time. Matsuo will be replaced by senior trader Liz Schulz, who has been with First Chicago since 1990.

Markin's appointment to the newly created position is designed to alleviate some of the responsibilities currently handled by global forex head Peter Mesrobian, a spokesperson says.

Markin, who also holds the post of global head of foreign exchange options trading and risk management, will now oversee spot and forward trading as well. "These changes are nothing earth-shattering," Mesrobian says. "This is just to make things work better."

As a result of Markin's added duties, the bank has appointed Fowler to the new post of chief dealer for FX options. Fowler started at First Chicago in 1989 on the options desk, the spokesperson says.

This new appointment is also a result of the bank's focus on foreign exchange options, says the spokesperson. "Last year we announced the appointment of several people to better co-ordinate options and foreign exchange capabilities in order to better service our clients," he says.

Markin spent 10 years with First Chicago in the 1980s, and then left in the early '90s to pursue other opportunities, says an official. But he rejoined as global FX options manager following Mesrobian's appointment last summer, with a directive to expand the customer-oriented forex options business (FXW, August 19).

Prior to rejoining, Markin was at Arthur Andersen, where he provided consulting services to corporate clients and government agencies on FX risk management, derivatives utilization and risk control procedures.

Since his appointment last year, Mesrobian has been bringing together the foreign exchange and derivatives operations. With such strategic appointments as Fred Stambaugh as head of a newly created foreign exchange options marketing unit (which combined the risk management of both FX and interest rate derivatives) and Tim Clark, formerly global head of options, as a senior marketer, First Chicago has revealed a combined focus on both the customer and options businesses.